Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica
Of all the extraordinary parks in the Costa Rican park system, Manuel Antonio is by far the most visited of them all, surrounded by white beaches and dark green forests. We anchored just off of the first beach in the park, and disembarked early in the morning for our different excursions. Some of us decided to take the road less traveled and walk up the “rainforest stepmaster” or Cathedral Point.
This tiny peninsula was once only a rocky, barren island near the mainland which became connected to it by a sedimentary isthmus called a “tombolo.” As we walked the trails towards the point, we encountered several species of animals including agoutis, mantled howlers, and two-toed sloths. The rest of us decided to take the flat trail known as the sloth valley trail. True to its name this wider access road took us through the realm of the sloths (two- and three-toed), the monkeys (capuchins and howlers), and even a couple of snake and frog species.
At least two of the sloths we spotted had babies; it came to a surprise to some of us to learn that these slow mammals are animals with such slow metabolism that it takes them four weeks on average to digest the leaves they feed from. Once a week they leave their tree-top home to “go to the bathroom” at the bottom of one of the trees in their territory. Why do they do this, who knows, but it sure makes for a great story.
After returning back on board for a great paella lunch, we disembarked for awhile in the town of Manuel Antonio where many decided to put an end to their shopping-deprived week. After packing during the later afternoon we were all pondering on the fantastic week of contrasts we just spent!
Of all the extraordinary parks in the Costa Rican park system, Manuel Antonio is by far the most visited of them all, surrounded by white beaches and dark green forests. We anchored just off of the first beach in the park, and disembarked early in the morning for our different excursions. Some of us decided to take the road less traveled and walk up the “rainforest stepmaster” or Cathedral Point.
This tiny peninsula was once only a rocky, barren island near the mainland which became connected to it by a sedimentary isthmus called a “tombolo.” As we walked the trails towards the point, we encountered several species of animals including agoutis, mantled howlers, and two-toed sloths. The rest of us decided to take the flat trail known as the sloth valley trail. True to its name this wider access road took us through the realm of the sloths (two- and three-toed), the monkeys (capuchins and howlers), and even a couple of snake and frog species.
At least two of the sloths we spotted had babies; it came to a surprise to some of us to learn that these slow mammals are animals with such slow metabolism that it takes them four weeks on average to digest the leaves they feed from. Once a week they leave their tree-top home to “go to the bathroom” at the bottom of one of the trees in their territory. Why do they do this, who knows, but it sure makes for a great story.
After returning back on board for a great paella lunch, we disembarked for awhile in the town of Manuel Antonio where many decided to put an end to their shopping-deprived week. After packing during the later afternoon we were all pondering on the fantastic week of contrasts we just spent!
